American Airlines Transcontinental Business Class: New York to Los Angeles

I chose this hotel based on the neighborhood (Miraflores) and the fact that I had earned about 57,000 Club Carlson points from the Club Carlson 50,000 points promos. Hotel prices in the area started at around $150/night in the area, while the Radisson offered rooms for 5,000 points + $70. I elected to upgrade to a suite for $15 more, which was still a fantastic deal. The room comes with free wi-fi + free breakfast + drink voucher at the hotel bar. With Radisson’s “Triple Points Faster” bonus, plus Gold bonuses for the stay (status gift from another promotion) + booking online, I got close to 10,000 points from the stay, recouping the points payment and then some.

The Radisson Miraflores is otherwise a Category 4 property that costs 38,000 points per night.

Modern-looking lobby, while waiting just a minute for my room to be ready at the early hour

Rooftop pool

Since I had status matched to CC Gold during a promotion, I was able to check-in early when I arrived shortly after 9am. I had booked a tour with Bike Tours of Lima for 10am, so I quickly changed into warm-weather clothes and ran out to their offices down the street. I forget the room number, but it was a lower floor on the corner.

Couch and desk, immediately after entering the room, past the bathroom/closet

View from the desk

View from the far side of the couch

Bathroom

I also received a welcome gift, though I don’t know what caused that (status? suite? for all guests?). The sweets were pretty tasty.

Welcome gift

I was originally going to skip the hotel breakfast, even though it was included with my room, as most hotels seem to have pretty mediocre ones. However, curiosity got the best of me, and I dropped into the Miso restaurant on the 2nd floor. My prior thoughts were wrong – this was an amazing breakfast selection. There is a buffet area with fruits, cheeses, and breads, along with drinks area. You can also order various dishes, mainly eggs, to go along.

From the buffet

Buffet selection

As for Lima – I’ve often heard of the city as just a “stopover point,” as in, “you only go to Lima because of flight schedules. Use it as a jumping point for other cities in Peru/South America.” I’d never been to Lima, so I wanted to stay a bit, but at the same time, didn’t want to stay too long. However, I easily could have stayed maybe one or two more days here. It’s a nice city in some parts. The only better Lima I can think of is Adriana.

I started off with a tour from Bike Tours of Lima. I did the Bay tour, $30 US, which went through the neighborhoods of Miraflores, Chorillos, and Barranco. There were 2 others on the tour, one of which was a Dutch gentleman who had been in Lima for a while and strangely chose to take the tour. Needless to say, he was rather unhappy, since he had already seen everything, but I think the bike tour is a great way to get to know different parts of Lima, especially at the beginning of a trip.

My guide gave me map of the area, and I used the next 24 hours or so to wander around Miraflores and Barranco, touring the Huaca Pucllana ruins and trying out the various restaurants and eateries around the area. Let’s just say, I’m not too big a fan of the Ceviche here (raw fish with citrus juice, popular in Lima), although I liked it when I tried more Americanized forms back home.

Setting out on a 4-hour bike tour of the city

Foggy Lima coastline, yet it never rains

Still foggy, now in a different hue

One of the best smoothies I’ve had, at La Lucha Sagucheria on Parque Kennedy

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